Best Zoom alternatives free? Top Zoom alternatives free? We have compiled the full list of top Zoom alternatives 2020. We have divided the best Zoom alternatives for each different purpose: webinars, meetings, friends, business, family, education and more. The recent lockdown across the globe have led to a staggering increase in use of video conferencing […]

Best Zoom alternatives free? Top Zoom alternatives free? We have compiled the full list of top Zoom alternatives 2020. We have divided the best Zoom alternatives for each different purpose: webinars, meetings, friends, business, family, education and more.

Zoom Hacked: Top 7 Zoom Alternatives To Use For Free [Zoom Alternatives 2020]

The recent lockdown across the globe have led to a staggering increase in use of video conferencing apps and Zoom is among top choices.

But recent reports of Zoom being hacked, and user details being sold on Dark Web have raised a lot of questions on the credibility of Zoom.

Zoom Hacked (Update): Bleeping Computer has reported that as many as 500,000 Zoom accounts have been hacked and reportedly later sold back on Dark Web for $0.0020 (around Rs 0.15) per account and in some cases for free. As per the report, free Zoom accounts are posted on hacker forums. The first news came out from cybersecurity intelligence firm Cyble on April 1. The firm bought 530,000 Zoom credentials per account in an attempt to warn their customers of the breach. The platform has urged users to change their Zoom account credentials as the hack may have compromised email addresses, passwords, personal meeting URLs and HostKeys.

In case you feel Zoom is not safe, and looking for a safer video conferencing platform, here’s a full list of the top free Zoom alternatives 2020 offering end-to-end encryption and added layer of security.

Top Zoom Alternatives Free: Best Zoom Alternatives Free

Among the currently available Zoom meeting alternatives free, we have chosen the top Zoom alternatives available for free.

We have divided the best Zoom alternatives for each different purpose.

Microsoft Teams: Zoom Alternative For Meetings, Business

The Microsoft Teams could be a perfect Zoom alternative for meetings and businesses. The Teams platform by Microsoft is quite popular among workplaces. It’s perfect if you want a safe and secure usage which offers video conferencing to PowerPoint presentations to as many as 10,000 people.

On top, Microsoft Soft as a free Zoom alternative also integrates Office 365. You get to easily share your important documents across Microsoft Word, Excel and other Office apps.

Microsoft Teams supports up to 250 people on a video conference call simultaneously.

Skype: Zoom Alternative For Education

The most common video calling platform from the last decade continues to be on top as always. Skype could be old, but it’s still the most convenient option when it comes to video conferencing, making it the right choice for educational purposes.

The perfect Zoom alternative for Education is Skype. With adequate tools and features available, it’s safe to use and easy to operate.

Google Duo: Zoom Alternative For Groups

The Google video conferencing app is a great platform for you to meet your friends, family or even colleagues virtually. Google Duo is a great alternative to Zoom with a simple easy to use platform with some useful features. Google Duo also supports audio calls alongside video calls.

You get added options as video voicemails and adequate safety with end-to-end encryption.

The Zoom alternative can have upto 12 people on a call at once. Duo can be used on mobiles, web browsers, and even smart displays as Google’s Nest Hub Max, making it an apt Zoom alternative for groups.

HouseParty: Zoom Alternative For Friends, Family

HouseParty has been a popular option for people who want to have some fun time while video conferencing. HouseParty has been a popular option among friends with online shareable live games. You can have fun with friends and family on a live call on HouseParty.

It’s free with some options to purchase games within the app. You still get a huge library of free interactive games making HouseParty a perfect Zoom alternative for friends.

WhatsApp: Zoom Alternative For Families, Friends

The most popular social messaging platform has its own video conferencing feature letting users connect seamlessly. The group video calling feature on Whatsapp is available for free, making it the most convenient option for people to connect within family and friends.

WhatsApp is the best Zoom alternative for families and friends. The WhatsApp video calls are encrypted end-to-end but can only accommodate four people at a time.

Facebook Messenger: Zoom Alternative For Families, Groups

With a Facebook account, you can use Facebook Messenger for video calls. The Messenger can be a great Zoom alternative for families and friends loaded with interesting features as emoji reactions, stickers and games.

Facebook Messenger can accommodate up to six people at a time (on the screen), but 50 people can participate.

Google Hangouts: Zoom Alternative For Webinars, Meetings

Google Hangouts is still the best when it comes to webinars and meetings. Google Hangouts can have up to 10 people to be on a video call at a time. You get text chat, screen share, options to send images, video and location.

Google Hangouts is a suitable Zoom alternative for webinars and meetings. You can also integrate your existing G Suite to use Hangouts Meet (chargeable) and add up to 250 participants per call.

You get access to all Google document services with the Meet service as Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides and such.

]]>104682Netflix Launches Interactive Shows to Put You in Charge; You Decide How the Story Ends!https://trak.in/tags/business/2017/06/21/netflix-interactive-shows/
https://trak.in/tags/business/2017/06/21/netflix-interactive-shows/#respondWed, 21 Jun 2017 12:45:59 +0000http://trak.in/?p=61736

Netflix today announced the launch of their first interactive episode which will give the viewers an opportunity to shape the narrative of the story through a number of decisions they make throughout the experience. The interactive show experiment is primarily being targeted at the young viewers. The first interactive episode to appear will be the […]

Netflix today announced the launch of their first interactive episode which will give the viewers an opportunity to shape the narrative of the story through a number of decisions they make throughout the experience. The interactive show experiment is primarily being targeted at the young viewers.

The first interactive episode to appear will be the Puss in Book – Trapped in an Epic Tale, which will offer the users some dozens of decision points throughout the whole story. As a result, the young viewers will get reasons to rewatch the same episode several times, so that they can explore the multiple branching paths.

See how this works in the following Puss in Book Trailer

The second interactive episode will air next month, which will be a children’s show Buddy Thunderstruck. Netflix made it clear, this a plain experiment with the interactive episodes. If the 99 million user base like the format, they would bring in the service for the other popular shows, so that they can bring in the new form of interactive storytelling into the mainstream media.

Netflix is using the simple technique of branching narrative format, which will let the viewers choose the storyline they like. Netflix will throw in some options, and the viewers will get the chance to choose between the different story options available there and each of the decision will offer a different story path.

So, literally speaking, this will give the viewers to control the story the way you want, and it will unfold in the hands of the viewers.

The proposition by Netflix is unique and could open up a new path of creating innovative formats of the storytelling. On the second hand, the viewers will get several reasons to watch the same show multiple times. A new ending means a new story, so indirectly it will increase the longevity of a show.

Though this isn’t the first time actually Netflix is foraying into the interactive storytelling. Last year in their the kids’ show Kong, they had such “Interactive Elements”.

For now, Netflix has exclusively partnered with the DreamWorks Animation Television, American Greetings Entertainment and Stoopid Buddy Studios to bring in such more interactive shows. Interactive shows are different than a normal show, and it takes added work of writing and animation, as they need multiple versions of the same story.

Plus, to experience the interactive show seamlessly, viewers need to have an internet connection with higher bandwidth, so it can buffer the multiple videos at one time, or else it will lag every time.

For now, you might only get two episodes slated at the moment, but according to Netflix, each episode will offer multiple decisions with a storyline that can take almost 3,000 different turns. Kids will have a great time watching the shows, which will keep them pretty busy, as they need to critically think about what is going to happen next.

This step by Netflix will make the regular entertainment a fun, and a far better alternative than the regular binge watching.

With its growing presence in the country, Netflix is looking forward to set up a full-fledged office in India. The company will set up the office in Mumbai, its fourth in Asia, after Tokyo, Singapore and Taiwan. “Our Mumbai office will be as large as Tokyo in a few years,” said Hastings. The Tokyo office […]

With its growing presence in the country, Netflix is looking forward to set up a full-fledged office in India. The company will set up the office in Mumbai, its fourth in Asia, after Tokyo, Singapore and Taiwan.

“Our Mumbai office will be as large as Tokyo in a few years,” said Hastings. The Tokyo office that opened two years ago has 50 people now, said Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix.

The American Video Streaming company wants to invest in creating content and open up more payment platforms for consumers.

Expansion and new opportunities

Hastings stated that India has emerged as one of Netflix’s three largest mobile phone markets around the world. As per Hastings, India had seen the highest growth among all Asian markets for the company’s streaming service.

“India is hugely important for us in the long term, because it’s one of the strongest internet markets and internet TV is the future over the next 10-20 years, given that linear TV will decline in viewing eventually,” Hastings said, as cited on ET.

On Monday, Netflix had earlier announced a deal with Bharti Airtel, Videocon and Vodafone to expand its portfolio from internet service to broadcast services like Set-top box (STB).

Challenges and Overcomes

The global broadcast service has over 44 million of its 94 million users from countries other than US. Netflix is working to eliminate buffering by producing technology that will support streaming of videos at a speed of just 100 Kbps, especially for markets like India, which is the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, but severely lacks network speed.

With less buffering capacity and more connectivity it is sure that India will gain more active users of internet TV, as the scope of the technology looks promising but implementation would require proper infrastructure.

“It’s a great opportunity to get in at the very beginning of internet TV, which will rise in India as phone networks as well as international players like YouTube and Netflix do more on the internet in India” said Hastings. “We want to be in the top five apps on the (consumer’s) phone,” he added.

In order to diversify the audience, it is also in procedure to add local content and will “double” the number of Television series and movie titles globally on its app to about 880 by 2018. However, Hastings stated that it will continue to focus on the premium segment in terms of subscription pricing, while its competitors HotStar and Amazon Prime Video offer comparatively lower price options for larger show libraries.

The internet TV company has also inked a deal with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, and Sacred Games.

“In 2017, we’ll be working on making our Indian service better in every dimension. We are keen on bringing more locally-produced series and films to our member households globally,” said Hastings.

Consolidation of TV into Single Format (STB)

After joining hands with Vodafone, Netflix is also looking forward to rope in Reliance Jio for extension of its services to 300 million plus internet users. It is also planning to provide payment platforms in India including partnerships with mobile wallets.

As per a recent usage survey done by App Annie, Hotstar leads the Indian market with an active user base of 63 million subscribers, followed by Jio Play with 52 million users and Voot TV with 13 million users. Amazon Video had 9.4 million users in December, while Netflix had 4.9 million subscribers.

Indian is a booming market for content streaming companies, especially after the surge of platforms like Hotstar and Hook. Netflix will be in a more flexible position after tapping the STB format.

Hastings is planning to spend time in Delhi and Mumbai, meeting content creators to expand its portfolio and operations. The company hasn’t disclosed the investment it will make in India as of now.

Youtube is much more than a platform – It’s a complete eco-system of on-demand education, entertainment and inspiration, all combined into one. As per Youtube’s own official statistics, they have paid $2 billion to content creators since 2007; and more than 1 billion people use Youtube to watch videos, which is one-third of the total […]

Youtube is much more than a platform – It’s a complete eco-system of on-demand education, entertainment and inspiration, all combined into one.

As per Youtube’s own official statistics, they have paid $2 billion to content creators since 2007; and more than 1 billion people use Youtube to watch videos, which is one-third of the total Internet population globally.

Once we come to know which were the most viewed videos across various niches, then we can get a sense of the pulse, of the demand-swing of the audience. Youtube has just released their annual report of the most watched videos in India for the year 2016, and there are some interesting statistics from the same:

Kapil Sharma Show Beats AIB and TVF

In the category of the most trending videos, Kapil Sharma Show has conveniently beat both TVF and AIB. Interestingly, SET India, which published The Kapil Sharma Show has 8.3 million subscribers, meanwhile TVF has 2.05 million subscribers and AIB has 1.8 million subscribers.

Netflix was a late bloomer in India, considering there were quite a few local players like Voot, Hotstar and YuppTV that had already made their mark in the VoD(video on demand) space. Despite the hurdles, Netflix gained popularity with the younger generation, thanks to global television shows and movies right at the click of a […]

Netflix was a late bloomer in India, considering there were quite a few local players like Voot, Hotstar and YuppTV that had already made their mark in the VoD(video on demand) space. Despite the hurdles, Netflix gained popularity with the younger generation, thanks to global television shows and movies right at the click of a button.

There was one thing still missing from the service – which it intended to offer to its customers – that a subscriber couldn’t watch the video offline. YouTube introduced offline videos long time back and this feature has been treasured by the YouTube audience.

Finally, after a long wait, Netflix has introduced downloading of videos on its platform for offline viewing. You can download select TV shows and movies to watch without an Internet connection from the Netflix app on your iOS or Android device. This works particularly well in India because internet connectivity is intermittent.

The only caveat of this feature is that this is not available on the desktop version yet. Which makes sense for users who watch Netflix on their smartphones or tablets, but for someone who wants to watch the videos later at home, you will have to cast your netflix screen on your television or desktop.

This service will not cost extra, so the subscription plan in India will still start at Rs. 500, which is a sweeter deal now. It is an amazing opportunity for frequent travellers to enjoy their favourite shows and movies on the go, whether they are in an airplane or underground in the metro.

The Netflix post on the blog mentions, “Many of your favorite streaming series and movies are already available for download, with more on the way, so there is plenty of content available for those times when you are offline. For example, Orange is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown are available for download today.”

How can you download videos and watch them offline later?

This feature has been released worldwide and should be available immediately in the updated app for smartphones. It is similar to YouTube’s offline video functionality, with a lot more shows and movies that you would want to binge on.

You need to have iOS 8.0 and later or Android 4.4.2 and later to get the updated app from the app stores. When you stream a video regularly, you will also notice a button on the bottom right with an arrow pointing downwards a small line. Pressing on this button will immediately start the download of the TV show or the movie you requested for.

Since this is app only, you must download the movies and TV shows on WiFi, unless you’re using Reliance Jio and have free internet for a while. Having this feature app-only also keeps a tab on piracy and illegal downloads.

There is a ‘My Downloads’ section now that will store all your downloaded titles. You can watch them as many times as you want, so you save on multiple streaming. Not all titles are available for download yet, so you can specifically browse through ‘Available for Download’ header on the app.

For chromecast users, this can be extremely helpful if you stream all your content to your television. It also offers the flexibility to watch the videos anytime later. Amazon Prime Video offers the same features, and will be launching in India soon, so stay tuned for more news on this.

Still not sure whether you should download Netflix? Go for a month free trial and see if video downloads work for you. The video quality is excellent and the content is vast. For college students and office goers, this is an exciting feature as you can watch your content while travelling.

Amazon’s video service, Prime Video, is coming to India as it forged tie-ups with Dharma Productions some time back. It is a direct competitor to foreign born – Netflix and Indian born – Voot, Hotstar and Bigflix. Video-on-demand is the next hottest segment in India and a lot of companies are fighting for the top […]

Amazon’s video service, Prime Video, is coming to India as it forged tie-ups with Dharma Productions some time back. It is a direct competitor to foreign born – Netflix and Indian born – Voot, Hotstar and Bigflix. Video-on-demand is the next hottest segment in India and a lot of companies are fighting for the top spot.

According to new information from The Grand Tour, a British motoring television series exclusive to Amazon Video presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the show will be made available to 200 countries in December 2016, and India should be on the list of these countries.

This is one of the hints at a December launch in India, almost a year after Netflix launched in the country. Netflix launched in India at a time Indian counterparts like Voot, Hotstar and YuppTV had already set their ground and were getting popular.

The Amazon Video page mentions, “The Grand Tour launches in the UK, US, Germany, Austria and Japan this Friday, 18 November. In December, the show will premiere in 200 countries and territories around the world, exclusively on Amazon. Fans from around the globe will be able to catch up on all episodes aired to date. New episodes will be released weekly, every Friday, worldwide.”

The hosts of this new show come from Top Gear, a highly successful British television series about motor vehicles. The Grand Tour is also expected to be on similar lines, and since it is Amazon Prime exclusive, all Prime members in India will get to watch it for free. For the time being, the service seems to be free at no added cost to the Prime membership.

Will Amazon Prime Video defeat Netflix in the race?

With a massive expansion plan to over 200 countries, Netflix could be left behind unless the company tries to get into some new territories. Netflix is at the moment in 190 countries, a feat it remarked upon early this year.

Although Netflix is a household name in terms of video-on-demand service, Amazon is getting into new segments and forming a name of its own. Naturally Netflix has more number of subscribers right now, over 80 million, as it was very early in its segment, and Amazon has lot of catching up to do.

However, Amazon Prime has made some interesting partnerships with global production houses for this massive expansion. Netflix should be worried because the Prime Video service will have some exclusive content that could steer away some subscribers.

China remains the only country where Netflix doesn’t exist yet. Keeping aside that, pretty much every country will now have Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Now it’s just a matter of fact of content because both the video services have been tested extensively.

As the service launches in India in December 2016, it is important to note the subscription prices. Netflix tariff rates start at Rs. 500 and go upto Rs. 850 per month, while Amazon Prime subscription costs Rs 999 per year, which is significantly lower. Also, as an introductory offer, Amazon Prime can be subscribed for Rs. 499 right now.

The choice is completely yours, because exclusive content is finally what distinguishes the two. As soon as Prime video launches in India, you will get the clarity on that and can decide which service is the best for you.

Last year, Facebook conducted a very interesting study on the relation between TV watching and consumption of videos online. They found that 62% of respondents between 13-24 years of age would rather give up watching TV compared to their mobile phones. With more than a billion Youtube users in India; and approximately 4-5 billion video […]

Last year, Facebook conducted a very interesting study on the relation between TV watching and consumption of videos online. They found that 62% of respondents between 13-24 years of age would rather give up watching TV compared to their mobile phones.

With more than a billion Youtube users in India; and approximately 4-5 billion video views per day on this platform; Internet is gradually overtaking TV as the preferred medium to watch moving images. On the other hand, Facebook has swiftly emerged as the most powerful competitor of Youtube as it witnessed 8 billion video views per day, which actually doubled since April, 2015 (it was 4 billion then).

What exactly are people watching online? Which videos generated maximum views? Just like last year, we are back again with a list of the most watched videos in India. For better sorting, we have divided the list into two categories: Short movies/Serial niche and Songs niche.

Considering that short movies and serial are longer, takes more time to prepare and have deeper meaning and relevance, we thought it was fair enough for creating a separate list for the same.

Without much ado, here are the top video list for 2015:

Short Movies/Serials Category

1. Chhota Bheem – aur – Krishna Jodi No. #1

Popularity of Chota Bheem series on Pogo TV has continued on Internet as well. Their serial: Chota Bheem aur Krishna Jodi generated 9.9 million views on Youtube.

2. Crime Patrol – Sting Operation 3 – Episode 500 – 26th April 2015

Crime Patrol, which Wiki declares as the longest running reality crime television series, was started in 2003 and have completed 12 years in 2015. Their episode #500 is the #1 watched Youtube video, with 10 million views.

This, is a perfect example of how mainstream TV is gradually integrating with Internet based entertainment.

3. Kapil Sharma rocks in Star Guild Award with his anchoring

Focus News channel shared the video of Kapil Sharma hosting the Star Guild Awards, which has generated 6.4 million views as of now. Thus, the top three videos on Youtube under Short Movie/Serial niche is dominated by TV.

4. AIB : Honest Indian Weddings (Part 1)

All India Bakchods, which is a popular Youtube based producers of entertainment videos created ‘Honest Wedding’ series, which became instant hit. The first episode generated whooping 6.1 million views.

5. PK MOVIE SPOOF || SHUDH DESI ENDINGS

Shudh Desi Endings which creates spoofs of popular movies is the rising star of Internet videos. Their spoof on PK Movie has generated 6.02 million views as of now.

6. Sujoy Ghosh’s Epic Thriller ‘Ahalya’

Sujoy Ghosh directed a short movie called ‘Ahalya’, in which Radhika Apte performed as the lead character. This short movie has generated 5.5 million hits on Youtube.

Arunabh Kumar’s production company: TVF created an interesting, funny episode called ‘Barely Speaking With Arnub’ which has generated 3.6 million hits.

8. Baahubali 2 | The Ending Spoof | By Srikanth Reddy: 3.08 million

TeluguOne’s spoof on the ending of Bahubali movie became an instant hit, as the video has generated 3.08 million hits.

9. Splitsvilla 8 – Episode 13 -Broken Promises

MTV is slowly but gradually feeling the pulse of Internet generation, as their youth centric show Splitsvilla’s episode #13 generated 2.5 million views on Youtube.

Special mention: TVF Pitchers

TVF created a path breaking web-serial for entrepreneurs called TVF Pitchers, which has attained a cult status among youth. Special mention of their effort, as their three episodes generated more than 5 million views on Youtube. The rest of the episode are now only available on their website.

TVF Pitchers: Episode one: 2.8 million

TVF Pitchers : Episode 2: 1.6 million

TVF Pitchers: Episode 3: 2.1 million

Songs Category

Honey Singh has once again asserted his dominance within the Indian music industry with his new song in partnership with T-Series, Hritik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor. This remix was a dedication to the founder of T-Series, Gulshan Kumar.

YouTube has been a sensation since launch and although Google has admitted it is not a profitable venture, Google continues to maintain the service and makes it better and better for both users and video uploaders. Since then, YouTuber has become a word to present the YouTube personalities and Google has helped these YouTubers gain […]

YouTube has been a sensation since launch and although Google has admitted it is not a profitable venture, Google continues to maintain the service and makes it better and better for both users and video uploaders.

Since then, YouTuber has become a word to present the YouTube personalities and Google has helped these YouTubers gain attention and popularity through simply uploading videos. However, with 7 Billion people on this planet, the probability of you becoming a YouTube celebrity is quite low, to be frank, unless you’re a hotshot and your idea has never been seen before.

To solve all these problems, nexGTV, a mobile content accumulation platform, has launched SPOTlight, a similar idea as YouTube, but to earn money in a simplified manner.

In association with Imtiaz Ali, a well known director and writer in India, SPOTlight aims to pay the uploader on pay per view basis. The application will also reward the user with the best video of the month. It is a good way to incentivise and motivate the budding actors, singers, dancers etc of the country to aim for bigger targets.

Imtiaz Ali is excited about the project and commented, “I always had a passion to make movies. When I went to Mumbai, I always looked for opportunities to make short films and so I got associated with this application so that the budding artistes find a “good” platform for them.”

The platform intends to give talented people a chance to showcase their skills and earn through it. After all, it is very difficult to shine through the 1.25 Billion people in the country with extraordinary talent everywhere.

How can one earn through the application?

Anyone can register on the application and start uploading videos with their own original ideas which will be scrutinized in case of plagiarism, violence or obscenity. The length of the videos has been restricted to seven minutes for now. Once approved and uploaded on SPOTlight, viewers will be able to see the videos and nexGTV will make sure your video reaches out to millions of users.

However, there is a caveat that comes with the pay per view tag. You will be able to earn only once your video reaches the 3,000 mark. It is completely on the users to tag the videos such that it reaches out to maximum people.

Post 3,000 views, there are attractive rates per slab, depending on the total views or hits. There are specific video categories only to which you can upload your videos, which limits the talent, but is enough to grab attention.

The top five videos every month on the nexGTv app will be personally reviewed by Imtiaz Ali who will finally decide the champion video of the month. Coming from the director of movies like Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway etc. you can expect a well thought of product and collaboration which will end up rivaling YouTube in India.

If you have been waiting to showcase your talent but could not find the right place to do that, SPOTlight seems to be the answer to all your questions. It will be a big platform for users who like to capture everyday moments in a vivid manner to express their thoughts and who bring reality to fiction.

Not only will users benefit, but even viewers will be able to see more and more unique content online. If you’re convinced with the idea, there is nothing stopping you from creating an account on the website and walking towards glory.

Singtel, Singapore’s leading telecom operator has launched it’s Netflix type video streaming service Hooq in India today. At the launch event, the company announced that they will offer catalogue of over 10,000 movies on it’s platform for a price of Rs. 199 per month for unlimited viewing. While few other companies in India have launched […]

Singtel, Singapore’s leading telecom operator has launched it’s Netflix type video streaming service Hooq in India today. At the launch event, the company announced that they will offer catalogue of over 10,000 movies on it’s platform for a price of Rs. 199 per month for unlimited viewing.

While few other companies in India have launched similar video streaming service, they have not really taken off. However, given Hooq’s movie catalogue and competitive pricing, this might be the first video streaming service that may appeal to Indians.

At Rs. 199 per month, 5 devices will be allowed to stream content and two devices can stream it simultaneously. Hooq will also be giving user choice of seeing content “offline” – meaning they will be able to download content on their devices and then view it through Hooq App.

Hooq had recently partnered with Sony Pictures and Warner brother to get a catalogue of over 10,000 movies and TV services that include titles like Harry Potter, Spiderman, friends among others.

Apart from global english content, Hooq also plans to offer region content from South Asian countries like India, China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Korea. Krishna Rajagopalan, who heads content at Hooq said, “Our goal is to offer the best of Hollywood content along with almost all Indian movies spread across languages. We are almost 60 per cent of that target now and will keep evolving with time and based on consumer feedback and demand”

Hooq claims that they currently have access to over 5,000 Hollywood titles and over 10,000 Indian titles that will be offered to users in India. Hooq has not specifically mentioned the names of production houses they have partnered with in India for regional content. Also, Hooq plans to stay premium and keep away from content that is already available on platforms like Youtube free of cost.

The Hooq app is available for Android, iOS as well as Windows PCs. It is not clear whether Hooq supports streaming on devices like Chromecast or Roku, but if it does, users should easily be able to stream video content directly on their large screen TVs. (We will update as soon as we know more on this)

Hooq service has been specifically designed keeping Indian bandwidth restrictions in mind. Users will be able to access streaming content even at lower speeds and Hooq app will intelligently stream content based on the bandwidth available.

With Global video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu staying away from India, Hooq has a real chance of grabbing good number of users in India. They are already available in countries like Singapore, Thailand and Philippines.

Other Video Streaming services in India

India already has a few players in Video streaming space and some of them have tasted mixed success. Players operating in India include Spuul, Times Internet’s BoxTV, Zee Entertainment’s DittoTV, Reliance Group’s BigFlix among others. Star India is one of the latest entrants with their video streaming service Hotstar.com, which was widely advertised and marketed during the IPL tournament.

It is that time and age in the world of digital, when the popularity of a video is determined by its virality, the number of people not just viewing it, but sharing it to make their friends a party. Statistics say that around 4 billion videos are being viewed every day over YouTube, and the number reached to a trillion in the last year.

With all that data it might seem a little easy to garner all those billions of views, but with around 60 hours of video every minute, or an hour of video every second, being uploaded on YouTube ,it is not really a cakewalk to rise above the clutter. Also, in the absence of a copy-book recipe to making a viral video, you never know what really works and what doesn’t. Sometimes it’s the quirky moves, at times the peppy music, often the content that tickles your funny bone and rarely even something that’s quite bizarre.

The year 2012, as it wraps up, also saw umpteen videos going popular. There were some that were geography specific, while the others that broke all barriers and became unanimously the viewers’ favorite.

Here we are with five Indian videos that attracted maximum views from the audiences within India :

(Note: We have deliberately not included movie trailers and songs, despite the fact that some of them had more views than the videos listed here, because they don’t really qualify, since truly viral videos are ones that sell solely on content and sharing).

Top 5 most Viral Indian Videos of 2012

1. Gana wala song: the Q-tiyatic version

This parody of the famous number from the movie Student of The Year got really popular after it was uploaded on the 15th of October 2012 by a production house called theviralfever.com, that is known for creating such viral content in the past as well.

The video today stands tall at close to 1.6 million views.

2. Airtel “jo mera hai wo tera hai, Jo tera hai wo mera”

This jingle of another popular advertisement for Airtel created by Taproot India was released at the opportune time of Friendship’s Day. It got quite popular amongst youngsters and even was downloaded in big numbers to be put up as ring tones.

The video now has roughly 1.4 million views as of today.

3. Video of Guwahati mob molesting girl shames police into action

This real footage of a very shameful incident that happened with a girl in Guwahati was put up by NDTV on the 13th of July. The footage was said to have been captured by a local reporter who was present at the scene. The incident was a real shocker and left Indians ashamed. Around 13 major culprits were identified in this case.

The video has being viewed over 1.1 million times.

4. Inbox short film

This cute love story, filmed by Nalaya Iyakunar was a hit. After being uploaded on YouTube on 4th of June 2012, it managed to attract around a million views. The movie is originally in Tamil.

In a country where cricket is religion, such awesome mimicry of top commentators had to be a rage. The video was just uploaded on 22nd of November 2012, and within less than 15 days, it has already been hit by a million viewers mark. The name of this software engineer is still not known, but he sure has a great talent, probably one of the best!

Here is a one fact about popular Indian Videos – Kolaveri Di which was uploaded close to year back has become one of the most watched Youtube video of all time. It has garnered close to 65 millions views till date!

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Additionally, there are a few other videos that were though not made in India, but got really popular with the Indian viewers:

Top 5 Global Videos popular with Indians

1. The Ganganam Style

This popular number and its video knows no bounds, Americas or Asia, it has taken the masses by storm. After being released in July 2012, by the Korean musician PSY[14], the video had over 879 million views over Youtube, till yesterday.

In September this year, it entered the Guinness Book of World Records, for the most “liked” video over YouTube, and gradually surpassed Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, to be named as the most watched video as well. Additionally, with leading diplomats and political leaders touting the song as “force of world peace”, the song is a massive hit.

2. Dumb ways to Die

Dumb Ways to Die is a public service announcement campaign by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia to promote rail safety. Created my McCann Melbourne, the video features different cute characters attempting to end their lives in the most stupid of ways possible.

The video received 2.7 million views within two days of being uploaded on 14th November 2012. Within two weeks the video had attracted around a 100 parodies and almost everybody who has watched it, hasn’t stopped humming. It has notched up over 31 million views till date.

3. A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square

This video was uploaded on the 11th of April 2012 and has around 39 million views as of today. The event marked the launch of the famous TNT channel in Belgium. To put forth the idea, that TNT knows drama well, they had set up a “button” in the middle of a not so happening street, which read, “Push to add drama”. The moment anybody pushed the button, there was a lot of action. It is closing in on 40 million views…

4. The Last

Another flick in the series of light hearted ones by Wong Fu productions. The movie is a simple romantic one. After its release on 24th October 2012, the video got really popular with Asian audiences, and now stands at around 4 million views.

5. Extremely Scary Ghost Elevator Prank in Brazil

This one is the hottest and latest of all. Released just last week on 26th of November 2012, the video already has over 41 million views. This is about a really spooky and scary prank that’s being played over people of Brazil. Reports even claim that post this, people are taking stairs and avoiding the elevators.

Let us know if we have missed any… We will add them if they deserve a place here!

With more and more well-to-do TV networks hosting their channels on the popular digital video site, YouTube, speculations are around regarding life and cycle of Television as being the coveted household medium. All popular TV channels like Colors, Sony, MTV etc, have their online channels up and running, either on YouTube or their dedicated websites, […]

With more and more well-to-do TV networks hosting their channels on the popular digital video site, YouTube, speculations are around regarding life and cycle of Television as being the coveted household medium. All popular TV channels like Colors, Sony, MTV etc, have their online channels up and running, either on YouTube or their dedicated websites, where the content being telecasted is updated every day.

Not just this, these channels showcase extra footages and content that is not always a part of the TV show. For instance, channels of shows like BIGG BOSSand MTV Roadies feature sneak peeks and uncensored sections where those clippings are put up that never go on air otherwise.

In addition to this, there are engaging tools like “LIVE chat”, “Vote”, “Poll” and “Spoiler Alerts”, to name a few, that make the channel more happening and interactive for the users.

All this owing to the fact that viewers are spending more time online than they ever did. A research conducted by BrightRoll (a leading research and video advertising agency) in association with Nielsen puts forth the fact that around 77% of all the internet users (worldwide) consume videos as well.

This research was carried out on a sample size of around 27,000, comprising of citizens from 55 countries including India.

The advent of smartphones and tablets, and a huge number of youngsters using them has made the medium even more accessible, thus putting advertisers to buy spaces for placing their ads on apps that are run on tablets and smartphones.

Earlier, apps for TV channels or programmes contributed only in terms of updates and feeds, but of late, they allow LIVE streaming of all the content ever uploaded.

Catching the wave, Google is investing a lot of money to enable people to come up with their own channels showcasing original content. Its partnership scheme, wherein uploading original content lets you share the ad revenue generated through your channel with YouTube has been of benefit for many, more so for the TV channels for they claim originality in its righteous sense. This move has already seen success, with top 25 original channels garnering an average of more than 1 million views a week.

However, the moot question is whether online video story is just about “cutting the cord” with Televisions, and replacing it as the ultimate advertising medium or about the growth of videos on internet as a medium in itself. The issue being, “If my favorite show is available right at the tap of my finger in my tablet, with interesting appendages, will I care to watch it at a fixed time on the big screen”. If not, then the channels or content providers and the advertisers, who are waiting to catch my attention for their stuff, while I watch these shows, need to rethink.

In the meantime when channels and viewers relocate, the marketers have already taken a plunge.

This year advertisers, going bullish on online videos, are likely to increase their spending on digital video ads. According to estimates the contribution of online videos to digital ad spends is set to rise from 7-8% from 2%, a year before, for they have begun to find effectiveness of online ads to be at par with those on TV. Spending on online advertising is set to surpass TV by end of year 2016.

There is no denying the fact that TV has always been a medium of mass reach, but the amplifying popularity of online channels, has made the latter a medium with equally competent reach, like never before engagement and even better pricing.

Certain features that put videos over web a notch higher than Television are:

Accessibility:

Online videos are available round the clock anywhere. More so, after the launch of smartphones and tablets.

Interactivity:

Online videos, many a times ask viewers to click on them, in order to experience extra action. This renders a feeling of personalization and interactivity. Also, the comments section associated with every video on the internet lets the viewer react instantaneously.

Selectivity:

Online videos, offer the viewer, a higher degree of selectivity as compared to TVs, hence they see what they are interested in.

Quality of online videos was one thing that used to set them at the back foot with respect to video over Television. However, lightning fast internet speeds, superb quality monitors and commercialization of content over the web have brought along HD videos.

Further, TV as a medium is “lean back” in nature, that is viewers readily accept whatever is being offered to them, while online videos are “lean forward”, which means that viewers watch only what is of interest to them, and anything that is not good will just not sell. Hence, online videos are compelling brands to become innovative with their ads, as here content rules the roost.

No wonder, that a report by Nielsen found premium online video ads to have better brand impact metrics than traditional TV ads, including brand recall, message recall, and likeability. All this contributes to the experts’ belief that online advertising is the fastest growing medium of advertising.

However, viewers who have spent decades in front of their televisions may not let it go that easy. It is the younger portion of the populace that can be targeted via this medium.

Hence, TVs shall be in the scene too, to appeal to consumers who are not avid users of the internet. Many still opine that availability of stuff over the web, has undoubtedly contributed in attracting more viewers, like students and young professionals who didn’t own a Television, though always had access to seamless internet, TV still remains the favorite medium for those who have a choice.

Thereby, the need is not to do away with TV altogether, or digress one’s sole attention to digital videos. The task is to strike a balance between allocations made to advertising spends over both the mediums. The importance of the same can be corroborated from the fact that, a recent Nielsen/IAB study found that people who saw a video ad across all “four screens” (computer, smartphone, tablet, TV) correctly recalled the ad 74 percent of the time, an increase from a 50 percent ad recall when they saw the video on TV only.

In the motley of advertising budget, proliferating importance of digital videos has made the whole thing comprehensive as of now, rather than eliminating any of the medium all together. It must be good, to watch the latest advertisement of my favorite brand during a show of my interest, and see its ad popup when I sleep off to my favorite video in my smartphone’s YouTube app.

]]>https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/11/06/online-videos-television-consumption/feed/215861The Hindu punches Times of India in face with this Super Creative Advertisement!https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/01/26/the-hindu-vs-times-of-india-war-video-advertisement/
https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/01/26/the-hindu-vs-times-of-india-war-video-advertisement/#commentsThu, 26 Jan 2012 16:52:45 +0000http://trak.in/?p=12182The below “The Hindu” Advertisement is creative at so many levels, I can’t describe. Whoever, has made it, has punched ToI in the face, all keeping themselves within the legal boundaries of what is allowed. The advertisement indirectly takes a jab at low quality of news covered by Times of India and how their readers […]

]]>The below “The Hindu” Advertisement is creative at so many levels, I can’t describe. Whoever, has made it, has punched ToI in the face, all keeping themselves within the legal boundaries of what is allowed. The advertisement indirectly takes a jab at low quality of news covered by Times of India and how their readers severely lack important knowledge.

Check out this video and I am sure you will love it (of course, if you are not a very big fan of Times of India)

Stay Ahead with Hindu

Many are calling it a response to a ad released by Times of India for its Chennai Edition couple of months back, where the ad directly takes a jab at “The Hindu” and calls it a very boring newspaper. It is a Tamil Advertisement, but I am sure you will understand the gist of it!

The Times of India Chennai ad TVC Wake up to the TOI

There is no question that Hindu Ad is far more punchy and creative – We will have to wait and see how and if Times of India responds to this!

What’s your take on these newspaper wars – It makes for an interesting viewing, isn’t it!

Kolaveri Di topped the charts with 17 million views and more than 75,000 comments from over 130 countries just 2 weeks after it was released in November 2011 (current views at 37 Million). With this sensational outburst, the unpredictable, unstructured phenomenon of the viral has been revisited. What does viral really mean? Viral videos or […]

Kolaveri Di topped the charts with 17 million views and more than 75,000 comments from over 130 countries just 2 weeks after it was released in November 2011 (current views at 37 Million). With this sensational outburst, the unpredictable, unstructured phenomenon of the viral has been revisited.

What does viral really mean? Viral videos or internet memes comprise content that is made popular by internet users who forward, send, re-tweet, embed, post, pass on, recommended & shared at hectic pace with other internet users. The popularity of viral content usually soars not due to externally injected promotional strategies but through inadvertent sharing.

Once Viral, Always Viral

The great thing about viral content is that whether it is impromptu or planned, once it is set into motion on the internet, it doesn’t need external fuelling. For instance, as HT reported, the Kolaveri Di video inspired tons of sequels, spoofs, spin-offs and remixes which only furthered its popularity and viewership. These spin offs, by the way, have become viral themselves. Even if a person comes across the spin off version, their curiosity will lead them to trace the original. Can you believe that Kolaveri Di has a Marathi version, a heavy metal version, a Dutch version, a female version, a cute version sung by Sonu Nigam’s son and a version that has Adolf Hitler. Apparently, even the Japanese are shaking their feet to the tunes of this irreverent Tamil song.

“Now, it has been our conscious effort to long tail ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’ concept by creating official dance mixes of the song, exploiting publishing and distributing the same. We want to keep it fresh, buzzing and alive till each person world over has seen/heard it.”

– Shridhar Subramaniam, President India and Middle East Sony Music Entertainment. [Source]

The logic of Viral Phenomena

Why viral content remains elusive to marketers, common folks and advertisers alike is because it is impossible to formulate or replicate by choice. You never know what the public is going to like and forward. The harder you try, the harder you are going to fall. As Gaurav Bhaskar, Global Communications and Public Affairs Manager at Google India puts it,

“Trying to predict which videos are going to ‘go viral’ is a bit like catching lightning in a bottle— extremely hard to predict. YouTube is a place where culture is created and shared— phrases like ‘double rainbow’ have entered the lexicon. Viral videos tend to share a few characteristics: Like any news story, they are authentic, surprising, and often topical.” [Source]

This brings us to observe the kind of content that makes it go viral. The commonly seen characteristics of viral videos are:

They are not shot with the intention of going viral

They are original – usually funny, cute and shot at home

The content is often plain, non-technical and not complicated

More often than not, viral videos are shot on ordinary digital cameras and hence their quality is not very good.

They operate on shock value, a heartfelt message or content that appeals universally.

The Mumbai Flash Mob 2011: On 27th November 2011, about 200 ordinary Mumbaikars came together at the CST Mumbai to break into an impromptu dance on the ‘Rang De Basanti’ song. Although the act looks spontaneous, it was pre planned. The phenomenon spanned across Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon and Kolkata.

Shraddha Sharma: An ordinary girl from Dehradun who runs a channel called Shraddharockin (almost 37k subscribers) simply posts Hindi film songs sung in her own voice along with strumming the guitar. The next Justin Bieber of India?

David After Dentist: This is a video about a boy with a cute verbal lisp describing his trip to the dentist’s. Currently standing at 105,720,592 views, 310,872 likes and 20,894 dislikes!

Charlie Bit My Finger – Again!: Once again, a ‘cute video’ which got 85 million views in the first year has now accumulated 250 million and is the most widely watched video on YouTube, reported HT. It currently stands at 410,708,353 views.

Double Rainbow: Currently at 32,356,591 views, this video taken at the Yosemite National Park in the US in 2010 sat on the internet for six months before it picked up and became viral.

Susan Boyle in the American Idol: Who knew that this ordinary looking contestant would draw millions of views, music CD sales and internet downloads? This is an example of a viral video that got picked up from a televised show because of the talent.

Open letter to a Delhi boy: Shahana Nair-Joshi, an ordinary Delhi girl wrote an open letter criticizing Delhi boys on her blog in September 2011 which gathered more than 7000 comments the very next day. She was forced to open a Twitter account, handle public admiration and is not being offered writing gigs!

"I was bitching about Delhi boys with a girl friend so I wrote it on a whim and posted it to my (recently created) blog. It wasn’t based on anything at all, just a rant" – Shahana Nair-Joshi, viral content creator. [Source]

]]>https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/01/20/what-makes-videos-viral-internet/feed/212086SOPA and PIPA explained Beautifully! [Video]https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/01/20/sopa-pipa-explanation-video/
https://trak.in/tags/business/2012/01/20/sopa-pipa-explanation-video/#commentsFri, 20 Jan 2012 03:49:41 +0000http://trak.in/?p=12063This whole week Internet has been abuzz with SOPA and PIPA. Most of the online biggies opposed these 2 acts that threaten to put an end to the way we share & express on the internet. Wikipedia went to the extent of blackening out their entire site for a period of 24 hours. Most of […]

]]>This whole week Internet has been abuzz with SOPA and PIPA. Most of the online biggies opposed these 2 acts that threaten to put an end to the way we share & express on the internet. Wikipedia went to the extent of blackening out their entire site for a period of 24 hours.

Most of us know and understand that SOPA & PIPA will bring heavy censorship on internet sharing, however, do you know the details of how these 2 acts will work?

Salman Khan of Khan Academy has made an excellent 11 minute video, that beautifully explains the nitty-gritties of these Acts and what they could end up enabling.

If you watch this video, even a school going kid will understand what SOPA and PIPA acts are all about.

SOPA & PIPA explained

[This video has been put as number of our readers requested us to put something up that could explain them these 2 acts – The above video does that job beautifully]

Although Google came out with an official list of the top 10 most watched videos on YouTube in 2011 in India, here is Trak.in’s very own list of the same. Google’s list for India has a few international videos along with 6 movie videos. We give you a mixed bag of the Top 10 Indian […]

Although Google came out with an official list of the top 10 most watched videos on YouTube in 2011 in India, here is Trak.in’s very own list of the same. Google’s list for India has a few international videos along with 6 movie videos. We give you a mixed bag of the Top 10 Indian videos on YouTube in 2011 which include news items, viral videos, city happenings and the best movies, in no particular order.

Why this Kolaveri Di

This song went viral beyond imagination when it was released in November 2011. The video of the song features its making and recording with all the involved artists namely the lead singer Dhanush, Shruti Hassan, Video Director Aishwarya Rajinikanth, music composer Anirudh and the sound engineer Sivakumar. Let’s see if the forthcoming Tamil movie ‘3’, for which the song has been made, hits a similar jackpot or not. As of now, Kolaveri Di remains one of the most watched and downloaded songs of the year 2011 in India.

Approx YouTube views: 29.6 Million

Flash Mob Mumbai

2011 saw a series of flash mobs across India in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon and Kolkata but the pioneer has been Mumbai. On 27th November 2011, about 200 ordinary Mumbaikars between the age groups of 4 to 60 came together at the CST station to break into a dance on the tunes of ‘Rang De Basanti’. Onlookers obviously S-T-A-R-E-D!!

Approx YouTube views: 2 Million

Ra One Teaser / Chammak Challo

Google’s official list puts the Ra One teaser as one of the most watched Indian videos on YouTube in 2011, but eventually this success was followed up by Ra One’s popular song ‘Chammak Challo’. It features international sensation Akon, is composed by Vishal Shekhar and is shot with quirky dance steps choreographed by Ganesh Hegde.

Teri Meri Song

Bodyguard has featured in our list of the Top 10 Bollywood films of 2011 on Trak.in and it makes a comeback in this list because of its immensely popular song ‘Teri Meri’ composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Of course, it’s a different story that the song is supposedly a rip off of the Romanian folk song La Betleem (Down There in Bethlehem).

Approx YouTube views: 21 Million

Sharad Pawar slapped

On the 25th of November, viewers were glued to their screens because videos of an attacker named Harvinder Singh slapping Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar broke out on the internet and in the news. This event was recorded at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) center in Delhi where Mr. Pawar was at a literary function. The attacker apparently slapped him because of this inability to control price rise. He has also previously attacked former telecom minister Sukhram in court. Strange but true!

Approx YouTube views: 306 thousand

Leopard attack on forest guard in Siliguri

While the YouTube viewership stats of this news item may not be as high as Kolaveri Di or a Bollywood song, it surely remained highly watched and popular on YouTube. In Siliguri, West Bengal, a leopard attacking a forest guard was caught on camera. Efforts to tranquilize the leopard started after this incident occurred. The unique way in which the leopard attacked the official was what made people watch this video again and again.

Approx YouTube views: 147 thousand

The Silent National Anthem

Mudra Communication’s released a campaign of the Silent Indian National Anthem that features deaf and mute children singing or enacting the Indian national anthem through their sign language. Made for Reliance MediaWorks (BIG Cinemas) on the occasion of the 61st Indian Republic Day, this campaign bagged a silver lion and two bronze lions at Cannes 2011.

Approx YouTube views: 1.2 Million

Don 2 Trailer

Before Don 2 released, the anticipation for it to hit cinemas was flying high, resulting in more and more users logging on YouTube to check out its sensational promo. It’s remarkable that pre release movie video viewership can reach such heights but considering it’s an SRK – Farhan Akhtar combination, there are no surprises. As box office gross figures come out in the next few weeks, we will get to know if Don 2 was really worth this hype or not.

Approx YouTube views: 3.7 Million

Shraddha Sharma

Shraddha Sharma seems to be on her way to becoming the Justin Bieber of India, well almost. A YouTube user herself, Shraddha Sharma is an ordinary girl from Dehradun who runs a channel called Shraddharockin (almost 37k subscribers mind you) on which she simply posts Hindi film songs sung in her own voice while strumming the guitar. This Indian teenager’s recent rendition of Haal-E-Dil from Murder 2 drew very heavy traffic.

Approx YouTube views: 1.6 Million

The first Crorepati on KBC Season 5

KBC’s Season 5 this year was much loved because of its theme of discovering talented people from the innards of India and giving them a chance to change their life. On 2nd November 2011, KBC went on air with its 47th episode in which Sushil Kumar from Bihar won the Rs. 5 crore jackpot. The audience loved his idiosyncrasies of thinking aloud and constantly drinking water until her wanted to pee. This episode crossed the viewership stats of Episode 40 which starred SRK who was busy promoting Ra One.

Approx YouTube views: 240 thousand

There you have it – The most popular Indian videos on Youtube in 2011. Do you think any other video was being worthy of being in this list? Let us know!

Apart from all the 3G launch campaigns were the talk of the town in 2011, there were also some great print and TVC campaigns that India saw in 2011. Let’s take a look at the top 10 campaigns that were well recalled, liked, watched and commercially successful – in no particular order. Cadbury’s ‘I love […]

Apart from all the 3G launch campaigns were the talk of the town in 2011, there were also some great print and TVC campaigns that India saw in 2011. Let’s take a look at the top 10 campaigns that were well recalled, liked, watched and commercially successful – in no particular order.

Cadbury’s ‘I love You’

Agency: Ogilvy India

The bitter-sweet background score of all ads of this campaign have been crucial to bring out the punch of the storyboard. The best ad of the campaign has been the one in which a wife asks the husband about when was the last time he expressed his love for her. He gives her a Dairy Milk and subtly conveys that he actually expresses his love for her every day without saying it.

Airtel’s ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai‘

Agency: Taproot India

Airtel’s print and the TVC campaign has once again hit the right spot with the audiences. The campaign tries to focus on how every friend is important in his or her own small or big way for their specific abilities. This youth friendship campaign aims to reinforce the unique importance of each relationship in life.

Vodafone Zoozoo superman 3G

Agency: Ogilvy India

The lovely Zoozoo Ads can never fail to tickle your ribs at the right places, can they? Back to launch Vodafone’s 3G services in India, a series of very likeable ads were released. The Zoozoo turned superman and performed unearthly tasks to denote the speed of Vodafone’s 3G internet. The campaign’s main aim was to tell audiences that Vodafone’s 3G is smarter, better and faster.

Tanishq ‘True Diamond’ campaign

Agency: Lowe Lintas

Cashing in on the magic that Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan can potentially weave over an audience in the range of 6 to 60 years, Tanishq’s ads emphasize on the quality of the jewellery and diamonds they offer along with exquisite designs. The best of this campaign is that the beautiful light hearted story about how Big B gifts his wife a set of diamond bangles from Tanishq that she already has.

Idea’s ‘No idea….Get idea’ campaign

Agency: Lowe Worldwide

Whether Abhishek Bachchan has managed to strike a chord with his audiences through his films or not is a debatable question, but his ‘Get Idea’ campaign has surely hit gold. The recall value of the entire string of TVCs for this campaign have been high – from the lady waiting for her boyfriend in the restaurant, to a girl discussing her sms bill to Junior B asking a lady of her plans on January 20. This campaign also won the ‘Best Brand Campaign’ at the World Communication Awards 2011.

Tata Docomo

Agency: DRAFT FCB + ULKA

Tata Docomo’s melody has already become very hummable and popular from the day it launched its service in India. This 2011 campaign remained popular amongst audiences and drove home the point that is makes in the tagline ‘No getting away. The network that always connects. Everywhere’. Whether it is an office executive waking up from his noon reverie with the Docomo tune ringing on his phone or the groom picking up his call during his wedding ceremony, the short but sweet ads have been successful in generating a smirk on the face.

Tata Sky ‘Poochne mein kya Jaata hai’ campaign

Agency: Ogilvy India

In a series of TVC’s that Tata Sky released without its brand ambassador Aamir Khan, the theme of the ads was to link an episode in which one friend is always hesitant to ask questions and the other friend unabashedly asks and benefits. Every ad links such an episode to the two friends asking for a Tata Sky retail feature at the shop and getting it. And hence the tagline "Pooch dala, toh life jhingalala".

Volkswagen Jetta Flyboy campaign

Agency: DDB Mudra

Apart from the large front page print campaign that was run for Jetta in the Times of India in its four main editions, the TVC of the boy with wings also remained popular throughout 2011. In the automobile category of the CNBC TV 18 Overdrive Awards 2012, this commercial received the Storyboard Auto Commercial of the Year Award.

TVS Wego Body Balance campaign

Agency: BBH India

Released in February 2011, this ad portrayed Wego to be the first two wheeler in India to have the unique Body Balance technology. The ad ran repeatedly during the IPL season this year and showed two young couples outdoing each other using ‘body balance’ by doing acrobatics on their Wego scooters. In the bike category of the CNBC TV 18 Overdrive Awards 2012, this commercial received the Storyboard of the Year Award.

Lay’s World Cup Flavours campaign

Agency: JWT Delhi

This campaign was launched in with the aim of cashing in on the tremendous audience of the ICC cricket World Cup 2011. Six new flavours of the chips were introduced keeping in mind the top 6 international teams that were participating. The campaign also continued with the Dhoni and Saif Ali Khan ads. PepsiCo aimed for 360 degree communication with this campaign being launched on social and digital media simultaneously.

“Did you know that 31% of rural Indians have not even heard about internet (That’s more than entire population of Brazil). On the other hand, India has crossed 100 Million internet user landmark and average Indian internet users spends about 26 minutes on internet every day. India is diverse in every way you can imagine […]

“Did you know that 31% of rural Indians have not even heard about internet (That’s more than entire population of Brazil). On the other hand, India has crossed 100 Million internet user landmark and average Indian internet users spends about 26 minutes on internet every day.

India is diverse in every way you can imagine and online trends are no different than offline. That’s the reason why we see consistently see offline advertisements for online things, something which is very rare in other countries – The recent example is Google’s full page ads on Google Chrome and Google Plus. I am not sure if Google has done that anywhere else.

Even though majority of Indians are not online, still India is one of the top countries when it comes to Internet user base. The mobile statistics are even more startling than internet – you must have read about the unbelievable numbers released by Google India head recently. According to him, 67% of Ecommerce in India happens through mobile, while 40% of internet searches are contributed to mobile as well!

We write about these sort of statistics often here on trak.in – and for an Indian it may not be all that surprising. However, for non-Indians these figures are sometimes quite unbelievable.

“We are Social”, an ad agency which has offices in 7 cities across the world has published a presentation that gives some awesome numbers on everything online, social and mobile about India. Take a look!

Social, Digital and Mobile in India

Which of the above statistics did you find most surprising?

{Note: If you are viewing this in feed reader or email, please click on title or you may not be able to see the presentation that has been embedded in the article}

Katrina Kaif’s popularity over the years has only increased – The web and mobile searches for her name clearly point to that. In fact, the she has 3 times as many searches compared to second placed Jacqueline Fernandez when it comes to mobile videos searches done by Indian Mobile users. Vuclip, world’s largest independent mobile […]

Katrina Kaif’s popularity over the years has only increased – The web and mobile searches for her name clearly point to that. In fact, the she has 3 times as many searches compared to second placed Jacqueline Fernandez when it comes to mobile videos searches done by Indian Mobile users.

Vuclip, world’s largest independent mobile video service, recently released the mobile video trends for August 2011, and Katrina Kaif not only came out on top, but also the only celebrity who figures from previous years August 2010 list. Except for “Katrina Kaif”, all the search terms are different from what they were in 2010.

Take a look at the most search entities for Mobile Videos on Vuclip

Rank

Top India Searches August 2011

Top India Searches August 2010

1

Katrina Kaif

Manisha Koirala

2

Jacqueline Fernandez

Supermodels

3

Bodyguard

Katrina Kaif

4

Sonakshi Sinha

Bollywood

5

Don 2

Riya Sen

6

Deepika Padukone

Tanushree Dutta

7

Anna Hazare

Katrina Kaif

8

Britney Spears

Sonam Kapoor

9

Rakhi Sawant

Emraan Hashmi

10

Shammi Kapoor

Kalki Koechlin

Generally, these kind of list are dominated by Bollywood & Cricket searches, but given the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement, Anna Hazare was also one of the popular searches on the network.

Interestingly, Brittney Spears (#8) is the only Foreign celebrity to be ranked by Indians in Top 10. She ranks on number 10 on US searches as well.

As far as cricketers go, Sachin Tendulkar remains at top followed by MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh!

Top Videos viewed by Indians on VuClip Network

Don 2 and Bodyguard were the 2 movies which garnered maximum views in August 2011. Surprisingly, Ra.One which right now is the talk of the town was not seen on their network.

Unique Users by Country on VuClip Network

With over 800+ million strong Mobile subscriber base, India also accounts for maximum searches on Vuclip Mobile video network which are also gaining steadily even as unique users in some countries is seeing contraction!